318 build

OP, until you tell us what you want to end up with and then can give us a decent measurement of how far in the hole your pistons are (so we know what we're dealing with), all you're going to get is a bunch of people shooting blanks in the dark with no target to aim at. Just meaningless answers.
"Pretty close to zero deck" is so subjective, it could mean a quarter inch in the hole. What exactly do you want out of the motor when you're done?